


Momentum

by TatsuKitty



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: Derek Uses His Words, M/M, Melissa is the best mom ok, Misunderstandings, Pack Feels, Slow Build, Stiles is a Little Shit, and yoga, scott McCall tries not to be a failwolf, sorta character growth, there's tea at one point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 18:37:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1909479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TatsuKitty/pseuds/TatsuKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“That’s how he knew where Erica and Boyd were.” He growled and stood to pace the length of the apartment. Melissa observed quietly while he processed and silently picked him apart. He was obviously possessive and protective but his facial expressions and motions were harsh, a bit wild, just a touch of the wolf showing in the man. Finding out that Derek was a werewolf had almost made a kind of poetic sense. </p><p>	“I’d guess. I don’t know what happened with them. I know they died.” She reached out and placed a hand on Derek’s forearm. He went totally still like a rabbit caught in the eyes of a fox and stared at her. “I’m sorry.” </p><p>	“Wh--¬what ?” he just blinked at her, still totally frozen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Momentum

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so so much to TheAlphasSpark for beta reading for me!  
> This is also chefjoe's fault. I am apparently a fic writing slavebeast.  
> Title is from The Hush Sound's Momentum!
> 
> TheAlphasSpark also made me an amazing cover art for this and it's just -screams with feels- http://thealphasspark.com/post/91297873772/momentum-mature-14934-words-sterek-by#notes

            It started off simply, with lacrosse practice in the McCall’s yard. Stiles made the rules, as usual. No werewolf powers. It ended with Stiles cupping his bleeding nose protectively.

            “You alright?” Scott asked as he hovered around uselessly. Stiles tries to count to ten in his head like he always does, tries to wait out the surge of rage. It doesn’t work this time.

            “I’m bleeding, Scott. Does it look all right to you? How many times do I have to say no werewolf powers?”

            “It wasn’t on purpose!”

            “You know what… that’s not the same as an apology, Scott. It’s really not.” He snaps back.

            “That doesn’t even make sense, Stiles!” Scott replies and Stiles is officially at Mach ten rage levels.  He feels it well up and mix with the ever present guilt and shame that hadn’t left him since the Nogitsune.

            “No of course not. You could single handedly cause the zombie werewolf apocalypse, but you’ll never say you’re sorry. Why should you when after all , you never mean it, Scott!”

            “Bro, what—“

            “No, you shut up. Shut your mouth right now.” Stiles leveled a finger into his face. Scott’s eyes were wide and shocked his jaw slack. “No! It’s been way too long for me to not deal with this anymore.” He was abstractly aware of Mrs. McCall’s car pulling up in the driveway behind him. “I was in the pool with Derek for TWO HOURS. He was paralyzed, Scott! We both almost died! You HUNG UP ON ME!” He practically screamed and waved his bloodied hand around. “Oh, oh, before that! Before that, we dug up Derek’s dead sister. Yeah, I helped, I was there, I know. But then after he’d just been exonerated, you toss him under the bus again!”

            “Dude, I thought he was dead!”

            “THAT IS STILL NOT SORRY, SCOTT!” He raged. “And I am NOT. Finished.” He glared, nose wrinkled with the force of his scowl and his posture angry and in Scott’s face.  “I got hit on the head and tossed into a dumpster because you couldn’t play nice with Derek’s pack. Derek was used as a weapon. You like bite raped him, man! You said you were pack and then fucked him over! You fucked ME over! Where were you when Gerard was beating my face off?”

            “G-Gerard?” Scott blinked.

            “Yeah, Gerard. You didn’t even ask me why I looked like I went through a meat grinder that night with Jackson and Lydia. He beat the fuck out of me. I had to tell my dad it was the other team by the time he let me go! Where were you? Once again, with Allison!”

            “Don’t even go there; you don’t get to go there.” Scott tried to warn Stiles.

            “I do get to go there, bro. I really do.  I killed her. I know. I’ve said sorry. I am sorry. I will always be sorry.”

            “That’s not—You didn’t—“

            “No. I did. I watched, I was there.” Stiles cuts him off. “But, man. I died for you. I literally died. Yet you let me run around and kill people instead of, for once, doing what needed to be done. Instead of doing the dirty work for yourself!”

            “What was I supposed to do?! You want me to have killed you?”

            “YES!” Stiles is momentarily shocked at himself, almost as shocked as Scott looked before he felt himself beginning to shake apart, rage gone. He turned and ran for the jeep without looking back.

           

 

            ****

 

Melissa stared, heart in her throat. Stiles rushed past, avoiding even looking her in the eye.

            “C’mon, kiddo.” She decided to focus on the teen in front of her and tugged her son into the house. Scott looked pale still, hands clenched.

            “I… I don’t know how I messed up so bad, mom...” He muttered and she felt her heart jump. She sat next to him and looped an arm around his shoulders.

            “Circumstances. A boatload of supernatural trouble without adult supervision. I’m not going to count Derek Hale as an adult here. He’s older than you but not old enough.” She pats his other arm.

            “I’m the alpha now. It’s even worse. I just…I want to keep everyone safe and I don’t know how to do that. I tried my best, I really did.” He looked at her with nothing but pure earnestness on his face.

            “Sad part of growing up is learning that sometimes you still have something to be sorry or responsible for even if you do your best.” She smoothed his hair back from his face. He was starting to get a little worried wrinkle between his brows prematurely.

            “So, even if it’s not my fault, I should apologize?” He looked a bit constipated.

            “Sometimes you might not even realize that it is your fault. We’re going to have to talk about that whole bite thing, too. I know you, Scott, and I love you. That won’t ever change. I think there’s a bit more going on than just slights here though.”

            “That still means there are slights. I…I really didn’t know about Gerard. I saved Stiles at the pool though! I came and rescued them!  I mean… I hung up on him but I still made it.”

            “You hung up on Stiles while he was in a pool?” Melissa asked but she wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to know. He winced and explained what happened; where Stiles was holding Derek up while the latter was paralyzed by the giant murder lizard she’d seen at the police station. “Did you apologize for hanging up on him?”

            “Well. No, but—“

            “No buts. That’s a big one. He’s not a big kid, Scott, Derek Hale is built like a brick mansion comparatively. Stiles isn’t a wimp but he could have drowned while you were with Allison and her family. I’d be upset too.” His eyes went wide, as if he flat out hadn’t thought about it from that angle.  “Scott… if I slammed a door on your hand, but stopped it from slamming on your foot and called it even it doesn’t fix the fact that I slammed your hand in a door first.”

            “I… I get that, I do I just didn’t think about it that way.” He admitted with shame and hung his head over his knees, resting his elbows on his thighs.   Melissa thought carefully for a few moments before she spoke again. This needed a delicate touch because the wrong thing would send Scott into another senseless spiral or not have the desired effect. He needed to think about what happened and why as well as how he influenced what happened around him if he was going to make better choices in the future, but she didn’t want him to bludgeon himself with shame and guilt over circumstances that weren’t his fault along with the ones that were.

            “I have a punishment and a project for you.” She patted his back bracingly while he cringed. “You’re going to make a list of all the ways people could have gotten hurt because of you. You’re going to make another of ways people _did_ get hurt because of your actions; emotionally or physically.  Then you’re gonna start writing out some apologies or delivering them in person, ok?”

            “That…that sounds good, actually. Thanks, mom.” He looked pathetically grateful, which helped alleviate some of the typical parental guilt associated with punishing him. 

            “You’re welcome, Scott. I think it says how weird we are that you’re thanking me for a punishment though.” She ruffled his hair and relaxed a little when he gave her a small but genuine smile.

            “Yeah, probably.” He shrugged. She stood and smoothed her scrubs down.

            “I’m gonna call and check up on Stiles. You go get started.” She heads to the porch to call the Sheriff so she was out of range of the super powered hearing.

            “Stilinski.” John answered.

            “Hey, John. It’s Melissa. Scott and Stiles got into a bit of a fight and Stiles drove off. I just wanted to make sure he got home alright.”

            “No, he hasn’t. Did someone get hurt? What happened? It wasn’t that Kanima thing again?”

            “No, the Kanima’s long gone.” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “It was actually somewhat average teenage drama over lacrosse this time.”

            “Oh…Huh. He’s not here. How long ago did he leave?” John asks and sounds pensive and slightly skeptical.

            “About twenty minutes or so. He might have gone off to Lydia’s or something. I’ll call around and let you know.” She again held back more information. If he wasn’t at home she was pretty sure she knew where he might have gone based on the other name that popped up during his rant.

            “Thanks, Melissa. Keep me posted, ok?”

            “Will do. Bye-bye.” She hung up and poked her head back in the house. “Hey Scott? What’s Derek’s address?” She hollered up the stairs for him. He poked his head around the corner, looking baffled.

            “It’s this loft downtown… Why?” He blinked.

            “I want to go pay him a visit.” She gestured for him to hurry up and spill. He rattled off the street address, still looking confused.  “Go work on your punishment. I’ll try to be back around dinner time. We can get Chinese or something. I don’t feel like cooking.” She headed back out the door and back into her car. It wasn’t ideal after a long and hectic day in the hospital but Stiles was practically her son too. She did have some questions for Derek as well. It was past due time that she got her own impression of the young man instead of the hearsay that she’d been privy to thus far .

            When she made it downtown she saw Stiles’ jeep in the parking area and felt briefly vindicated. She knew her boys well, it was gratifying to note.  She headed up to the loft, eyeing her surroundings with a bit of distaste. The place was kind of a dump. The door was left slightly ajar so she poked her head in.

            Derek was standing there, arms akimbo and carefully not touching Stiles, who was doing an admirable impression of a leaking sprinkler. He had two fistfuls of the back of Derek’s shirt and was smearing tears and blood from his nose on the chest of it, sobbing so hard that he wasn’t even making a sound.  Derek’s head snapped up and he flashed blue eyes at Melissa, who made ‘I surrender’ hands before stepping in.

            “Stiles.” She said quietly and he snapped his head up. She flashed back to his terrified, sleep deprived face before his MRI when she’d sedated him and put him to bed before it flashed to the Nogitsune, tied up and crying with Stiles face. The Nogitsune had played right to her heart, because Stiles didn’t cry often, hiding behind his wide grin, sarcasm, and bad puns, so it was even more heartbreaking when he finally lost it. She opened her arms wordlessly to him and gestured him in when he hesitated.

            “You—you were scared of me.” His voice was ragged and quiet. She scoffed and tugged him down into her arms, pressing his forehead to the crook of her shoulder.

            “No offense, kiddo, but you’re not exactly the bogey man. Why would I be scared of you?” She deflected and pet his hair. They both knew why someone would be nervous around him but her words seemed to drain the fight out of him. He practically collapsed in her, arms wrapping around tight enough to hurt as he cried it out. She swayed a bit, marveling at how Stiles had gone from a gangly little kid to much taller than her with broad shoulders.   She caught Derek’s eye over Stiles’ shoulder and mouthed ‘Make some tea?’ at him. He seemed very relieved to have something somewhat productive to do and leapt clear over the sofa to get to the kitchen.  

            “I didn’t mean to—I just—I can’t sleep still. I can’t. I don’t eat. I see their faces and Allison and Scott—all the people” Stiles babbled out between wracking sobs and shaking before he just collapsed into a litany of “Sorry. I’m so sorry.”  Melissa just shushed him and continued petting his back, shaking her head. She managed, slowly, to flop onto the rickety, obviously curb shopped couch with him. Derek came back in just as Stiles was quieting, passing out on Melissa’s shoulder.

            “…I made chamomile with honey.” He murmured and she had to smile at him and his awkward gesturing with the slightly chipped cups.

            “I’ll take one. You got a bed? Stiles is out and I don’t think he’ll be up any time soon.” She smoothed the teen’s hair again and pressed a kiss to his temple. Derek nodded after a moment’s hesitation and set the tea down. He stared at his own hands for a moment before he made fists and relaxed them, then came over and scooped Stiles up, princess style, and carried him up a spiral staircase. Melissa was never getting rid of that mental image. She sat and calculated the gentle way he handled Stiles against what she’d heard about Derek Hale.

            The man was supposedly power hungry, turning teens into werewolves for his own gain and keeping secrets, murdering, causing crimes. She watched him walk down awkwardly. Beneath his permanent bitch face he looked uncertain, his shoulders tight around his neck. He was wearing a soft sweater with thumbholes so the hem wrapped around his knuckles and a pair of soft jeans.  He looked slightly lost and then brought a cup over to Melissa.

            “Thanks. You got a little…” She gestured to his shirt and the little blood spot.

            “I uh… I have practice getting blood stains out.” He shrugged a shoulder

            “Werewolf life skills?” She gave him a lopsided smile. He just looked at her as if she was a slightly irritating alien. “Stiles apparently got hit in the face with a lacrosse ball via ‘werewolf powers’ so he had a nose bleed.”  That seemed to relax him, finally, and some of the tension bled from his shoulders.

            “He’s never… why did he come here?”

            “He had a fight with Scott. One that ended in him admitting he wished Scott had killed him when he was possessed. I don’t think he knows you were against putting him down too.” She sipped her tea and tried not to smirk as Derek’s head flew up to look at her. His eyes were wide and slightly guilty looking, as though he’d been caught sneaking a cookie from the jar.

            “How did you—?”

            “We’re starting kind of a coalition of werewolf parents. Chris Argent talked to me a bit in the hospital after Allison.” She nods a bit. “You saved his life. You also made him question the ethics of putting Stiles down.”

            “I...” Derek just blinked at her as if she was something completely unexpected.

            “I know my son has made mistakes. He’s learning from them. I gave him a punishment to do too. I don’t know you, Derek. I try not to make opinions based on what other people say.” She sipped her tea again. He stared into the cup as if it might hold the answers but stayed silent.  “I’ve known Stiles since he was a little boy missing his baby teeth. He does this periodically. He’s always fine until he’s finally not and then he’s so not okay.  He seems like he wears his heart on his sleeve.”

            “He does. He always seemed like an open book to me.” Derek frowned pensively. It looked harsh and angry with his aquiline nose and the fierce sense of protectiveness she caught radiating off him.

            “It’s his defense. He makes a nice cozy wall of bad puns and sarcasm so no one knows he’s not totally okay all the time.” She sighed softly. “Did you know about Gerard?”

            “What about Gerard?” He asked defensively, eyes going hard and wary at her.

            “About what he did to Stiles.”

            “What. Did. He. Do.” He grits out.

            “That’d be a no, then. Scott didn’t either. You remember the big lacrosse game a while back? Apparently Gerard is the one that made mincemeat of Stiles’ face.”  She elaborated. The handle of the teacup cracked in Derek’s grip and he swore under his breath.

            “That’s how he knew where Erica and Boyd were.” He growled and stood to pace the length of the apartment. Melissa observed quietly while he processed and silently picked him apart. He was obviously possessive and protective but his facial expressions and motions were harsh, a bit wild, just a touch of the wolf showing in the man. Finding out that Derek was a werewolf had almost made a kind of poetic sense.

            “I’d guess. I don’t know what happened with them. I know they died.” She reached out and placed a hand on Derek’s forearm. He went totally still like a rabbit caught in the eyes of a fox and stared at her. “I’m sorry.”

            “Wh--what?” he just blinked at her, still totally frozen.

            “They were your pack, right? It had to be horrible to lose them.”

            “It…” He looked oddly fragile and moved to sit again, staring at his hands. “…It was.” He admits quietly.

            “Can I ask why you turned them?”  Once again, he looked up at Melissa like he couldn’t figure her out.

            “They--Erica was sick. She was miserable and suffering. Isaac’s dad was hurting him and he had no support. Boyd was lonely and quiet. He was…He thought he’d be better off dead. Scott thought… I did need power but. Being an alpha…” He paused, as if searching for words, that didn’t come to him easily. Melissa had the sinking feeling in her stomach that no one had ever asked him if he needed or offered comfort. She felt an almost familiar tug in her heart. She always wanted to take care of everyone, soothe their hurts and mother them. It was part of the reason she felt she was a good nurse. She couldn’t help but let her heart go out to people and Derek Hale was no exception the more she learned about him. “It’s a balance. You’re stronger, faster, but you have more people to train and protect. I…”

            “You wanted to save them.” She guessed. Derek flinched like he’d been slapped and just nodded slowly.

            “Instead, I killed them.” He almost whispered. “Boyd was killed by my own hands.”

            “Why did you kill him? Was he attacking someone?” He gave her another surprised look, as if he couldn’t believe that she thought he would have had a legitimate reason for killing if he had to do it. Her heart cracked in a new spot just for Derek Hale.

            “The alpha pack held my arms. I couldn’t shift back fast enough and Kali shoved him onto my hands.” Derek flexed his fingers again. Melissa set her own teacup on the floor and plucked Derek’s from his hands before taking one in hers.

            “That wasn’t your fault, you know.” She gave his hand a motherly squeeze. He looked at her with suspiciously glassy eyes and another angry scowl.  “If Boyd had the same thing happen, would you call him a murderer?”

            Derek just gave a slightly shaky exhale and then gave a small, slightly bitter smile. His fingers squeezed around Melissa’s in return. “How do you—why are you—Are you a therapist?” He finally managed to get out. She barked a loud laugh and then patted him with her spare hand.

            “Nope, just a mom. I knew your mom too, you know. She used to donate old books and things to the hospital a lot. We weren’t close but she was a great lady.” Melissa hesitated for a second. Derek seemed fragile again, face suddenly looking years younger. She knew objectively that he was probably around 24 but the misery and the beard aged him. “I think she’d be proud of you.”   Derek inhaled sharply and blinked, obviously trying to stay calm. “I’m gonna let the Sheriff know that Stiles is safe and go grab some Chinese. You take care of yourself, ok?” She pulled back slowly and patted his shoulder again. He didn’t move to walk her out, but she hadn’t expected him to.

 

***

            Derek sat and watched the tea get cold on the floor after Scott’s mother left. He didn’t even know the woman’s first name but she’d managed to make him feel more raw than he had in years.  He had been settling in to read a book, possibly sleep early. Instead, Stiles had rushed in and grabbed him. He still wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

            Stiles had been the only one to offer him any form of comfort after Boyd. Derek loathed touch. He hadn’t always, but what with Kate (and now Jennifer, his mind supplied helpfully) he was careful about it. Stiles was the only one who wasn’t put off by his posturing and glaring.  Stiles was always like that. They bantered, teased, even threatened, but at the end of it, they tended to comfort and take care of each other. Derek still felt unsettled when he poked at his anchor. Thinking about Stiles calmed him, made him feel safe and connected in a way he hadn’t since Laura had died.

            He stood finally and picked up the cups from the ground to put in the sink, then grabbed his dropped novel. He went upstairs again. He wasn’t sure what to do with the odd tightness in his chest, the feeling like his skin was too small to hold him in a way that had nothing to do with his wolf and everything to do with Stiles and Ms. McCall’s interruptions to his evening. Stiles was starfished out on his bed (and he was definitely not going to examine how comforting that was). He snuffled a bit, scrubbed at the little bit of dried blood under his nose. Derek hesitated for a second before he went and got a washcloth from the bathroom and sat on the edge of his bed. He wiped gently to get the blood off without waking him. Stiles frowned a bit in his sleep and Derek smoothed a hand over his forehead before he’d even really thought about it. He felt a rush of—something he wasn’t going to examine either, as Stiles soothed and cuddled into Derek’s pillows.

            His hands shook as he put the washcloth back in the bathroom.

            Derek frowned down at his shirt before he tugged it off to soak the bloodstain on the front. He padded back to his room shirtless and winced when the drawer creaked as he opened it.

            “D’rek?” Stiles asked groggily. Derek turned to him, clutching his fresh shirt to his chest and feeling a little like a deer caught in headlights.

            “Yeah. Go back to sleep, Stiles.” He said quietly before tugging the shirt over his head.

            “’kay.” He rolled over and buried his face against Derek’s pillow. Derek felt a rush of affection that he had absolutely no idea what to do with.  He took his book up again and then sat nearby to watch over him as he slept.

 

 *******

            Stiles was groggy and ashamed as he woke up. He had a moment of disorientation as he looked around.

            “Wh—oh.” He blinked and then rubbed his eyes. Derek was asleep in a chair, book splayed over his chest and head lolling onto his own shoulder. He’d slept in Derek’s bed. How did he get into his bed? Stiles shook his head to clear it a bit. He still remembered Scott’s face mirroring his own twisted shame and fear at his confession. He scrubbed his hands over his hair before his bladder made finding the bathroom a dire need. He stumbled out of the room in his usual graceless fashion. He heard sounds of Derek waking and heading downstairs. He stared in the mirror. His nose was still red from yesterday but he wasn’t covered in blood anymore. He looked around and that’s when he noticed the shirt soaking and the rag. Derek had cleaned him up? He washed up and scrubbed a stolen finger of toothpaste over his teeth and gargled with some of Derek’s mouthwash. Might as well keep taking advantage of him, while the taking was good he shrugged.

            He peeked nervously into the kitchen. Derek was rubbing his neck, eyes still shut, as he made coffee. He stood in front of the machine while it was brewing, holding his cup.

            “So, hi.” Stiles waved nervously. Derek blinked groggily at him instead of any other greeting. “Also thanks for not killing me when I kinda launched at you. If we could never ever talk about that again, that’d be pretty cool. Cuz that was legit embarrassing…”

            “Yeah, we’re “gonna” talk about it.” Derek replied and grabbed another cup down for Stiles.

            “Do we have to? I mean, yeah, I owe you one for real cuz we were like at the patting shoulders and arms stage of bro-hood but we weren’t really at the sobbing and hugging stage yet, I don’t think and—“

            “Stiles! Derek just blinks at him before pouring coffee, turning his into a syrupy mess of creamer and sugar.  Stiles took his own cup before it was subjected to the same treatment.

            “I like sweets but that’s a little excessive.” He teased Derek a little bit, trying to get onto a more comfortable footing with him.

            “I can’t drink coffee without it. It’s too bitter for me.” Derek yawned and then took a long sip. “You feeling better?” He asked.  Stiles nearly choked on his sip of coffee and coughed. Derek patted him on the back, which didn’t really help him breathe any easier.

            “Uh. Kinda?” he hedged. Derek gave him a flat look, letting him know he heard the lie. “No. Not really. I feel like shit cuz I chewed Scott’s ass off, one cheek at a time. I’m also super fucking embarrassed that I cried all over you and you probably princess carried me upstairs. Washed my face, too, saw the rag with your shirt. Sorry, about the shirt, yeah…”

            “Scott needs his ass chewed off periodically.” He shrugged at Stiles’ rant. “You’d have done it too.” He shrugs.

            “Carried you up stairs? I’m pretty sure I couldn’t carry you three feet.” He sassed back.

            “Carried me in a pool for two hours.” He replied with a raised eyebrow, giving sass for sass. Stiles just gaped at him.

            “Are you a pod person?”

            “I’m honestly not sure anymore. Is Ms. McCall always so…”He clearly struggled for the right words.

            “Nosy? Perceptive? Terrifying? Cuz—yeah, honestly.”

            “All of the above. She…” He shook his head slowly and drank more coffee. “She took my brain apart in about fifteen minutes. And held my hand.” He made a moue of confusion and unease.

            “She does that. I think it’s a nurse thing. So are we gonna have a sappy moment and talk about our feels?”

            “Feels?” Yeah that was a whole mess of sass being communicated through facial expression alone.

            “Yeah, emotions, man pain, feelings.”

            “Possibly,” He replied and looked almost challenging.

            “Fuck.” Stiles sagged against the counter and scrubbed a hand over his face. He really didn’t want to have this conversation. He wanted to go back to pretending he was fine. Was that really so much to ask?

            “I actually had something I needed to tell you.” Derek looked… embarrassed? Stiles blinked again, in case his eyes were deceiving him.  

            “If this is about where your eyebrows go when you shift, I decided I don’t want to know.”

            “You do that a lot. I didn’t notice that until Ms. McCall brought it up. Use sarcasm as a defense?”

             “Yeah. Well. I’m good at it.” He shrugged, trying to deflect again.

            “You are, that’s true. But. You… you taught me a lot about anchors when you helped Scott before.”

            “I did?” Stiles felt a thrill of pleased surprise.

            “You did. Having a person as the anchor makes the shift easier. It gives you something to trust and to fight for.” Derek gave him a look that he couldn’t decipher so, Stiles nodded as Derek spoke to let him know he was listening.  “You’re my anchor.”

            “What?” He blinked rapidly. “Me? I…”  For once, Stiles was lost for words. Derek looked slightly nervous and uncomfortable, shrugged his shoulders and moved to the couch.  “I’m… honored, man.” He hesitated but patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t know if you picked the right guy but—“

            “I know I did.” He shrugged again and crossed his legs at the ankle. “Ms. McCall called the your dad to let him know you were safe last night.”

            Stiles nodded and carefully took a seat on the couch too. He tugged his legs up into a crisscross and tapped his fingers on his knees.

            “It’s ok if you’re not alright.” Derek offers.

            “Same to you.” Stiles countered. If he had to have his wounds poked at, then Derek could deal with it too.

            “I know. I’m working on it. Are you?”

            “…I slept last night?” he offered and fidgeted his fingers.

            “that’s not the norm?” he frowned at Stiles. He bit down hard on a grin but it slipped out anyway.

            “You know you look like grumpy cat when you make that face.”

            “…Grumpy cat.” He deadpanned with an added cannonball of sass directed at Stiles.

            “Yeah, grumpy cat is kinda famous.” He beamed in return. Successfully distracted, fuck yeah.

             “Glad to know I resemble a celebrity.” He gave an honest to god smirk. “So, you’re not sleeping. You suicidal?”

            “God dammit!” Stiles sighed. “I’m not. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t do that to my dad, even if I was, ok? Just. I was mad at Scott. Dude, how many times did he leave us hanging? He like… with the bite and Gerard…like right after h—Nothing. But.”

            “After Gerard beat you?”

            “….Melissa.” he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, gesturing expansively with his other hand. “Yes, after he beat me. He played you, ignored my hamburgular face, all that fun stuff.  He let me run around and murder people. And kill Allison.”

            “You didn’t kill her.”

            “Uh, pretty sure I did.”

            “You gonna blame me for Boyd?”

            “The fuck? No. Why would I blame you for that? They literally held you down.” Stiles gasped as his stomach plummeted. “Why would you think I’d do that? Shit, don’t answer that, I did that before. Sorry. About that, you know, and the arrests.” He winced.

            “But you killed Allison, right? The Nogitsune was controlling you, holding you hostage in your own body, but that was your fault. So that means I’m responsible for Boyd.”  Derek arched a brow at him, almost in a dare. “You’re forgiven.”

            “…Did you seriously just--? We having a Good Will Hunting moment?”

            “Jesus, Stiles.” He cracked into a grin and chuffed with laughter.

            “Holy shit! You can laugh! It’s a miracle!”  Stiles laughed along with him  feeling disproportionately proud of himself.

            “Might be. You think you’re a miracle worker?”

            “I feel like one now.”  He grinned back at Derek, who nudged him a little in return.

 *******

           

            Derek was still feeling a bit unsure of himself a few days later. After he had finished talking with Stiles, the younger man had gone home with a sheepish wave. Derek was sitting on his couch re-reading the same paragraph in his novel with unseeing eyes as his brain tried to untangle everything with Stiles.

            It had felt undeniably good to confess that Stiles was his anchor. He was even buoyed by the pleased look Stiles had worn, even if he had  started cracking jokes immediately.  He was still unsettled, off kilter, and felt too open from the conversation.

            Derek wasn’t actually sure that Stiles knew what an anchor meant. Stiles had been the one that figured out Allison was Scott’s anchor, true, but Derek meant that he could anchor Stiles as well. It could go both ways.  He was still on shaky ground after his conversation with Ms. McCall as well. He finally gave up the book as a lost cause and stood, doing a quick leap over the couch  to jog up the stairs. Once in his room (pointedly ignoring the fact that his bed still smelled like Stiles), he changed into a pair of worn sweats and a tank top. Nothing had ever made him feel more sure of himself than exercise did, so he decided to go for a run.

            He gave into the urge to leap partially off the stairs, and caught the railing to propel himself towards the door. He gave a small smirk to the empty room when the doors to the elevator closed.  Laura had always used to tease him for being a show off. He stomped on the usual surge of grief and guilt. ‘Not today,’ He thought to himself and forced himself to focus on Laura’s teasing with affection. It was still bittersweet but he had to admit that Laura would have kicked his ass six ways to Sunday if she thought he was wallowing; It was what she’d done when she got fed up with his guilty looks after the fire.

            His mind wandered in those directions as his feet pounded the pavement in a steady tattoo . The sun was doing it’s level best to bake most of Beacon Hills but there was a decent breeze, so Derek ran where it would blow into his face, letting it lead him through the back streets of the town.

            He was almost able to ignore the people moving to the other side of the street or gossiping as he ran past. It was much harder to ignore the catcalls of a couple single moms or a gaggle of teenaged girls. He felt a shiver of revulsion when one of them laughed in a way that reminded him of Kate and ran faster.  He checked over his shoulder and barely caught himself before he flattened Ms. McCall coming out of the Indian place with bags of takeout. He did a move that a movie superhero would have been proud of and caught the food as he skidded around her.

            “Sorry, I didn’t see you.” He gasped and then held the food out.

            “Now, why can’t you teach Stiles to catch things when he runs people over?” She laughed and patted his shoulder before reaching to take the bags. He shifted them a bit.

            “I can bring them to your car.” He offered, though he was aware it sounded more like an order.

            “Oh, I walked.” She shook her head and reached for the bags.

            “I can bring them to your house, then. Unless you’d prefer I didn’t follow you home.” He finished lamely and shrugged a shoulder.

            “Free labor? I’d be a fool to pass that up!” She grinned at him again.  “Scott is being henpecked into finishing his essay by the terrifying duo of Stiles and Lydia.”   Derek took a moment to imagine the sheer intellectual power in that room with Scott and shook his head.

            “You’re a brave woman. You’re not afraid he would make a desperate bid for freedom?”

            “Ah no, Lydia’d catch him and it would be so much worse than anything he’s been up against.” Ms. McCall winked at him in a commiserating fashion. He huffed out a laugh that he hadn’t intended on allowing to escape.

            “I can’t argue with that.” He hefted the bags into a steadier position and walked.

            “So, you still need to exercise? Way to take all the fun out of being supernatural. I figured you could lay on the couch and eat chocolate all day and still be ripped.”

            “I enjoy it,” He offered in return and smirked at her scandalized expression.

            “And here I thought the full moon was the worst of your problems.” She clucked her tongue. “Not that I would necessarily approve of you living off chocolate. Don’t ever let Stiles hear that either. He’d have me eating celery and carrot sticks for lunch like he does to his dad.”

            “He would?” Derek furrowed his brow. “He stuffs curly fries into his face like someone will steal them from him.”

            “He cares about everyone else having healthy food.” She chuckled and turned at the corner to head to her neighborhood. “To be fair, his dad does have some cholesterol issues. Stiles just likes to take care of people.”

            “It would make sense. He’s very bad at letting anyone else take care of him.” Derek paused and frowned at himself. He wasn’t sure that it was a good thing he managed to articulate his feelings about Stiles.

            “Have you been trying to take care of him?” Ms. McCall asked with a speculative look in his direction.

            “Maybe.” He grunted and felt heat flush up that back of his neck. “It’s. There’s. We have a mutual…thing.”

            She stopped dead in the sidewalk and stared at him with wide eyes.

            “You know the Sheriff has Wolfsbane bullets now?”

            “Yes?” He questioned, looking at her in confusion.

            “You also know that Stiles has a month left before he’s eighteen?”

            “Wh—what does that have to do with anything?” He raised both brows at her.

            “You have a thing. With stiles. A mutual thing. See where I’m going here?” She waved a hand that encompassed most of Derek. He jolted when he realized her connotations.

            “NO! No. He’s…Pack. We’re pack. He’s my anchor.”

            “Like Allison was for Scott?”

            “Yes!” He gasped in relief.

            “Not helping your case there.” She shook her head but started walking. Derek stared after her in sheer bafflement for a few moments before he caught up.

            “It’s not like that. My anchor before used to be anger. I thought it might be better if it was someone I trusted.” He felt awkward explaining himself to someone he didn’t really know but he was proud of himself as well.  Ms. McCall seemed to agree with him on that point because she let the subject matter drop.  She went up the porch first and opened the door.

            “Home! Brought a stray and some food!” She hollered up the stairs. Derek gave her a flat look, pursing his lips slightly and raising his eyebrows. 

            The stairs sounded like a herd of rampaging cattle fell down them before Stiles threw himself around the doorway into the kitchen and stopped.

            “Melissa, I hate to inform you but this werewolf isn’t actually a stray. I don’t think he’ll let you keep him either.”

            “Well, it’s a good thing I wasn’t trying to keep him hostage then.” She ruffled Stiles’ hair as Scott and Lydia made it into the kitchen. Scott looked about as Derek had expected from a man subjected to Lydia and Stiles on a homework binge, his shoulders slumped and hair in tufts of frustrated tugging. He stiffened a bit when he saw Derek but there was something slightly different about it.  Stiles seemed to notice and elbowed Scott in the ribs. He received a glare for his trouble but then Scott cleared his throat.

            “Hey, can I talk to you in the living room for a second, Derek?” 

            He found himself turning to look at Ms. McCall for reassurance, which clearly meant he was losing his mind. He was a grown man; he could decide whether to go into the living room with a teenager. Regardless, she nodded encouragingly at the pair of them before he agreed and gestured for Scott to lead the way.

            Once in the living room, Scott seemed even more nervous.  Derek tried to school his face into something more patient, but judging the way Scott’s nerves increased, he only managed to make himself look grumpy. Such was life.

            “So. Uh. My mom talked to you the other day so I’m sure you know some of it. Stiles and I had a big fight.” He gestures. “We’re over it, kind of, now but… I’m sorry.”

            “Sorry for fighting with stiles?” Derek arched a brow, wondering what the hell was going on.

            “No! Well, yes. But, I’m sorry for accusing you of murder those times and for making you bite Gerard. That was really horrible of me. It won’t make it feel any better but I just honestly didn’t really think about how it affected anyone else.” Scott shifted and reeked of guilt and nerves.  Derek felt the bottom drop out of his stomach at the mention of Gerard but it was slightly soothed.

            “You really mean it or did you get bullied into it?” He asked.

            “I really mean it. Yeah, you’re grumpy and stuff but you have a right to it. I shouldn’t have acted like that, man. I’m really sorry. I understand if you don’t forgive me, and you’re totally cool with that, really, but I just wanted to tell you.” Scott had an expression of pure earnestness, eyebrows up, eyes big, and mouth slightly open.  His heartbeat was nervous but he hadn’t lied once.

            “Thanks.” Derek offered and nodded a bit. Scott looked like he was a minute away from wagging his tail like a puppy as he grinned and walked back to the kitchen, jerking his head in invitation. Derek waited and held his hands up, counting his fingers.

            “Ten fingers, ten toes?” Stiles asked and Derek jumped. He hadn’t even noticed him coming back into the room. Stiles had an unreadable expression on his face, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorway.

            “…yeah.” Derek replied and walked by, just a little too closely, for the sole purpose of hearing Stiles’ heart spike up in rhythm.  His own jumped when Stiles clapped a hand over his shoulder before moving to sit at the table.  There was a space left open but Derek found himself hovering.

            “Derek, sit!” Ms. McCall ordered and he found himself rushing to comply. She grinned and served him up some food.

            “Better eat before Stiles and Scott gorge themselves.” Lydia pursed her lips in their direction. Both of them paused with heavily laden forks halfway to their mouths and looked at each other.  Ms. McCall barked out a laugh and Lydia looked pleased with herself as they resumed eating.

 *****

Melissa looked over Scott’s punishment. Her son was equal parts pleased and frustrated with himself over the list and she could see why. It was a very long list.

            “Step two, kiddo. Start telling people sorry.”

            “I did, but…what if they died?”

            “…Still say sorry to them?” She shrugged helplessly. How was this her life? Scott just nodded and took the list back. He put a big red checkmark next to Derek’s name and Melissa chuckled, patting his shoulder.

            They’d started up an odd schedule. She’d find Derek running in town somewhere and invite him home for dinner. He was always very quiet. She figured he was one of those people that needed to be one on one to really open up.  She noticed him getting tenser the longer they went without anyone getting hurt, though. She made a mental note to ask him about it the next time she saw him.

            “I’m off to work, kiddo. Let me know if you have anyone over!” She called over her shoulder before she headed in to work.

            The shift went pretty well. There was an outbreak of flu so the waiting room had been stuffed full of people wanting antibiotics that would do absolutely nothing for them. Melissa was getting a bit of a reputation for being a bad ass though, so no one argued with her when she turned them out to get some over the counter medicine and a lot of sleep. 

            She did startle a bit when she saw Derek hovering around one of the vending machines, nostrils flared. She headed over to him and cocked her head to the side as she put a hand on his forehead.

            “Temperature is normal. Can you even catch the flu?” She teased. Derek flushed a little and looked embarrassed.

            “No. I just. I saw all the people and thought--”

            “Perfectly human problems. C’mon, sit with me in the break room for a bit.” She walked for the room without checking that he was following. She knew he would be.

            “Am I allowed to be back here?” Derek asked, looking around.

            “We have family visit all the time. I used to make Stiles and Scott do their homework in here when Claudia was sick.”

            “Claudia?” Derek echoed.

            “Stiles’ mom.” She clarified with a sigh. Derek looked stricken for a moment before nodding.  “I’ve noticed you hovering a bit lately. Here, around Stiles… Got something to tell me?”

            “No.” He sat and seemed to think that was a sufficient answer. She gave him the patented Mom Stare and tried not to smirk when he started squirming. “It’s just been quiet. I’m not used to it.”

            “I don’t remember a lot of animal attacks or mass murders when you were younger. Was it always like that?”

            “No. Mom was respected. There were some, but it was usually wolves and hunters. Gerard was the one responsible for Deucalion. I just…”

            “Waiting for the next shoe to drop? Let me give you a hint, Derek. Do not go borrowing trouble. That’s not to say to drop your guard completely, but if you’re looking for trouble you’re probably going to find it.”

            “You’re right. I know that.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I just feel—off.”

            “You’ve been through a lot. We all have.” She put a hand over her thigh where the Oni had cut her.  “It doesn’t mean we’ll have more to deal with so soon.”

            “You and Scott are way too optimistic.” He gave a slight smile and shook his head.

            “Someone needs to be!” She laughed, grabbing her lunch. Sure enough, celery sticks. She groaned and crunched on one. “Stiles got to my lunch. Distract that boy!”

            “Me?” he arched a brow at her, smirking and generally exuding sass.

            “Scott doesn’t keep him away from my lunches.” She tossed a celery stick at him. He caught it out of the air with lazy grace and crunched into it. 

            “Celery’s good.” He shrugged.

            “Oh no, not you too!” She sighed with exasperation. “We’ll all be eating veggie burgers and sweet potatoes…”

            “There is never any excuse for veggie burgers. You can eat healthier lean meats, red meats, easily.”

            “If you want to make Sheriff Stilinski love you, you’ll convince Stiles to buy him lean red meats.” She laughs. “Hey! We usually grocery shop together. You should come with us. Influence him. Make him stop putting celery in my lunch.”

            “You greatly overestimate my ability to make Stiles listen.” He deadpanned. She couldn’t help but laugh.

            “Well, I don’t underestimate his ability to make you suffer healthier foods with the rest of us, so it’ll still be amusing for me.” 

            He seemed to contemplate this for a moment before he deflated with realization, making her laugh again. She filed that away for later as well, noting how wrapped around Stiles finger he was.  He seemed to hesitate for a moment and then sighed.

            “I.. talked with Stiles the other day but… I don’t know how much he understood.”

            “About?” She raised her eyebrows. Apparently, she didn’t have to pry it from him after all? It also started to cement her notion that maybe he was just as oblivious as Stiles was, about how wrapped around each other they were.

            “I told him that he was my anchor but he doesn’t seem to understand that it goes both ways. I know he’s still not sleeping.”

            “Everyone knows he’s still not sleeping. He’s still got some of that creepy red and blue bruising under his eyes.” She sighed a little.

            “I don’t know how to help him.” Derek admitted quietly.

            “There’s not really any way to do that. He has to make peace with what happened to him. All we can do is just be there for him, even if he doesn’t want us to be.” She shrugged helplessly. “Scott drew away from me for a while too. Gotta be honest, I wasn’t expecting the werewolf thing. I just was there for him until he didn’t have a choice other than telling me.”

            “You’re a really good mom.” Derek looked embarrassed that he’d said that, and almost surprised at his daring. She smiled her surprise and happiness at him and he gave a tentative smile in return.

            “Well, glad you think so. Particularly since I’ve sorta adopted you.” She laughed and patted his shoulder. He stiffened minutely at the touch but still looked pleased. “We’re grocery shopping tonight. Meet me at the end of my shift.” She patted him again and laughed at his resigned sigh.

 

 

            Stiles looked up and waved at Melissa  before looking back down at his list. He jerked his head back up in a double take when he saw that she was practically dragging Derek along with her.

            “Heeeey, Melissa, Derek?” He gave a puzzled grin. Derek rolled his eyes at him and Melissa gave a frankly evil smile.

            “Derek has been living off boxed meals!”

            “Traitor!” He gasped at her and Stiles felt a bit floored before his righteous food induced fury took its place.

            “Oh that’s not acceptable. You’re a growing Wolfman, you need square meals!” He poked at Derek’s bicep, giving him enough time to dodge as usual. He tried not to feel too shocked when Derek allowed the touch. Stiles was usually pretty tactile but he’d noticed Derek was always really reserved about touch. He understood it after he learned about Kate and then the whole creepy Jennifer thing… He felt the familiar surge of rage, even though he knew it was disproportionate to what he should probably be feeling. He wanted to kill her all over again for killing Heather and then hurting Derek.

            “I told him he has to suffer with the rest of us if he’s an honorary family member.” Melissa grinned and grabbed a cart for herself.

            “He’s not honorary family.” Stiles protested. Derek stiffened and paled a bit, seeming to withdraw. Stiles hastened to finish the rest of his sentence. “He’s pack. That’s like, legit family. Right?” He grinned at Derek. He felt like he needed to clutch at his chest a second later when Derek _grinned back at him_ _._

            His eyes all crinkled up, his mouth pulled up oddly around his weird bunny teeth, and he had dimples pushing into his cheeks. It should not have made Stiles feel like someone clenched a hand around his heart while sunshine poured out of Derek’s pores. He had DIMPLES. He should have looked like a troll doll, not ten million years younger and even more attractive. _How dare he!_

            Stiles smiled helplessly in return before Melissa cleared her throat and he jumped to get his own cart.

            “So, celery!”

            “No.”

            “Aww c’mon!”

            “Stiles. No.”

            “Carrots then. These veggie burgers are good too.” Stiles grabbed a box. Derek literally growled at them and put them back in the freezer. Melissa was bent over the handle of her cart laughing. Derek sent her his grumpiest pout before arguing with Stiles about the virtues of lean red meats. Stiles argued back about cholesterol before Derek grabbed the box of veggie burgers with a disgusted face and pointed to the transfats.

            “oh my god. How did I miss that?! I’ve been poisoning us for no reason!” Stiles gaped at it and then whacked Derek in the arm for looking so smug. It made him look MORE smug, if that was even possible. “Shut up.”

            “I didn’t say anything.”

            “Your eyebrows did!”  Stiles cracked up at Derek’s baffled face and caved, putting the leaner meats into the cart. “You’re still eating vegetables!”

            “Not unless you’re cooking them for me too.”

            “Don’t tempt me, Sourwolf. I’ll make your life a sea of vegetable soup!” Stiles threatened and he was pleased to see Derek wrinkle his nose up in the way he usually reserved for Lydia being her most terrifying.  Melissa looked highly amused as they continued bickering over just about everything, they put in the cart.

            Stiles felt his hands shaking a bit with exhaustion by the time they finished but he was in high spirits. Derek shoved him out of the way and put the groceries up for the checkout line, frowning deeply at him again. Stiles raised his eyebrows and waggled his head in challenge. Derek looked pointedly at his hands and then prodded one of the bags under Stiles’ eyes.  He felt himself go stock still at the touch. Derek touched him. On the face.  His heart flopped in his chest like a dying fish and his mouth felt dry. He licked his lips. Derek’s eyes tracked the movement and Stiles felt himself flush a little bit.

            The beep of the register startled them out of it and he cleared his throat before heading to the front of the register to pay for the food.  Derek immediately grabbed the bags up, sending Stiles a challenging look of his own with a stubborn jut of his lower jaw and slightly narrowed eyes.

            “Fine, He-Man, you can carry my food.” Stiles sighed and flailed his arms slightly.  He was rewarded with another gut-swooping, heart stuttering grin. He was coming to realize that he was totally screwed.

            One look at Melissa’s smug face confirmed that he was indeed completely screwed.

            He sighed a little and followed Derek out to his jeep.

            “Want me to drive you to your loft?” he asked and stifled a yawn. He climbed in and buckled up as he waited for Derek to load the groceries.

            “No, I can make it back walking. When’s the last night you got a full eight hours?”

            “When’s the last time you did?” Stiles snarked back because he didn’t have anything better to say.

            “Slept ten yesterday. It’s nice with the loft being quiet.” Derek replied and smirked. “Cora snored.”

            “I sleep, a lot, I just don’t feel rested.” Stiles deflected and shrugged.

            “Little naps a lot or full nights a lot?”

            “You’re really into talking now. I don’t know if I like it or not.”

            “You like it.” Derek practically ordered. Stiles couldn’t help laughing.

            “I don’t think it works like that, buddy.” He replied and pulled into the driveway next to his dad’s car. He paused when Derek scooped up Stiles’ own groceries. “Dude, what are you doing?”

            “Your hands were shaking.” Derek replied in a tone that brooked no nonsense. Stiles sighed and stuffed his traitorous hands in his pockets.

            “It’s not a big deal. I’m not a little princess. You’re going to come in with my dad home?”

            “He knows I’m not a murderer now.” He shrugged a shoulder and headed towards Stiles’ front door.  Stiles grumbled under his breath the whole way with him and gestured towards the kitchen. His dad was sitting on the couch and frowned in confusion at Derek.

            “Boys.” He greeted suspiciously.

            “Sheriff.” Derek nodded. “Ms. McCall had me help with grocery shopping. I offered to carry if Stiles drove.”  Stiles tried to hide his surprise at Derek not immediately ratting him out and also saying a full sentence to his dad.  His dad didn’t bother hiding his surprise before shooting Stiles a look that said ‘Explain’ clearly.

            “We’ve been spending more Pack time together. Melissa also wanted to make sure Derek wasn’t poisoning himself with cheap food again.”   That seemed to satisfy some of his dad’s curiosity. Derek took care of the rest by poking his head in.

            “We bought red meat because Stiles wasn’t checking the transfats on the veggie burgers.”

            “…You’re a good man, Hale.” His dad offered with a grin. Derek sent a smug smirk at Stiles.

            “You’re all going to gang up on me for the rest of my life. You suck.” He flailed at both of them before flopping on the couch next to his dad.

            “You just hate being wrong.” Derek called from the kitchen. His dad snorted a laugh.

            “Yeah, like you’re the epitome of graceful in the face of wrong-hood!”

            “More graceful than you.” Derek shot back with a wave of his now empty hands, effectively getting the last word by leaving the house. Damn him.

            “Derek Hale? Really?” His dad asked him.

            “What?”  Stiles shot a confused look his way.

            “No sex until you’re 18 or I’ll arrest him.”

            “WHAT?!” Stiles squawked and then flailed right off the couch as his dad got up to go deal with the groceries. Was he really that obvious?

            Double fuck.

 ******

           

            Derek had been coerced (he would never admit to being intimidated) into yoga with Kira and Lydia. The girls had insisted that he had the most unused floor space, which was correct but—yoga?  He was in the middle of the mountain pose when Stiles threw himself through the doorway.

            “Malia’s not here, right? Thank GOD.” He dropped onto the couch. “Are you guys doing yoga?” he laughed at them.

            “Did she pee on your lawn again?” Kira asked with a wince. Derek felt himself growl before he was conscious of it and both girls turned to look at him. Lydia was clearly smug but Kira was very confused.

            “She broke into my room last night through the window and tried to make out with me.” Derek may have been imagining the ‘Again’ at the end of that sentence but judging by Kira’s wince he wasn’t.  “Then we spooned. I had to be the little spoon.” He grumbled. Lydia chuckled at him and he launched one of Derek’s pillows at her. “It’s not funny! I need coyote be gone. She’s nice but I don’t wanna be the little spoon….”

            Derek moved before he really thought about it and leaned over into Stiles’ space. He sniffed and growled again, when he smelled Malia all over him. He dragged his cheek against Stiles’ before he even thought about it.  

            “Uh. Derek?” Stiles said hesitantly. Derek sniffed again, satisfied that Stiles smelled like him.

            “Coyote-be-gone.” He shrugged, trying to play it off. Stiles’ heart was beating at a rabbit pace and he was flushed. Derek was sure he was embarrassed and avoided the speculative gazes of the girls. “Mountain pose.” He snapped at them and resumed his position.  The girls giggled and followed.

            “I need some popcorn for this.” Stiles teased.

            “There’s some in the kitchen. You made me buy it, remember?” Derek tossed back and then directed the girls into the forward fold. He hugged his legs close but startled his head up when Stiles made a choking sound. “Are you alright?”

            “Fine. Just. Fine.” He was bright red and patting his chest. Derek frowned a little and then reached and poked Kira’s leg. “Heels closer.”

            She shuffled to comply, sharing a look with Lydia. Derek took a deep breath and paused again. It smelled like spicy-tangy arousal from Stiles. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him as badly as it did, but he snapped at Lydia when her pose wasn’t perfect.

            He’d known for ages that Lydia was interesting to Stiles’. It shouldn’t have been a surprise but it somehow always was.   He directed them into a Power Lunge pose and Stiles wheezed.

            “Butt down, Lydia.” Derek directed, with possibly more growling than needed.

            “Yoga is supposed to be relaxing, Derek. So relax!” She pursed her lips at him. “Stiles, you should join us.” She said with saccharine sweetness.       

            “Nah, I think I’m good just watching, thanks.” He replied in a strangled tone of voice that had Kira giggling over her knee.

            “Oppa’s a good teacher!”

            “Oppa?” Derek asked, looking over at her.

            “Yeah, it means big brother.” She smiled at him. He gulped past a lump of feeling in his throat and just nodded a bit, which seemed to delight Kira even further.

            “I wonder if we could get Scott to do yoga too…” Lydia mused as they switched to downward dog. 

            “Be right back!” Stiles yelped and rushed to the bathroom. Derek shifted to watch him go in confusion.  Kira and Lydia shared a look before cracking up and falling out of the poses.

            “Get back to the pose.” Derek sighed at them.

            When the girls finally deemed they’d had enough yoga and ran to the kitchen for snacks, Derek looked up and saw that Stiles was still missing. He sighed and went for the bedroom. He stopped by the bathroom and inhaled sharply. Did he really—In Derek’s house?!

            “Stiles?”

            “Be out in a minute!” Stiles gasped. Derek felt almost dizzy with the scent and then… Stiles was gasping. This was not good. He was in so much trouble.

            It felt like a bucket of cold water to his head when he realized that he’d taken his bathroom voyage into inappropriate masturbation spots over the sight of Lydia doing yoga.  Derek stomped the urge to growl and went to the kitchen. He stared into the cabinets as if they would give him the answer.

            “Oppa? Can we stay for dinner?” Kira asked him and he blinked at her.

            “Yeah.” He nodded and then grabbed some pasta out since it would be enough to feed all of them, even if Stiles decided to stay.

            “Did you drown?” Lydia sounded distinctly amused. Stiles shuffled in embarrassment and shook his head.

            “Sadly, no. I forgot you’d be out here when I got back.” He muttered.

            “We might not have been but Derek sure would be.” She smirked and then sashayed her way into the kitchen, taking the pasta out of Derek’s hands. “I’m cooking, go sit and look pretty.” She shooed him. He gave her a hard stare that was countered by a nearly imperceptible change in Lydia’s face. Her lips hardened just that little bit, one brow cocked, eyes flinty, and all that spelled murder. Derek decided grace was the better part of valor and beat a hasty retreat. “That’s what I thought.” Lydia preened as she started cooking.

            Stiles and Kira were busily arguing over which supernatural creatures were more likely to be real or not. Derek kept his face a careful blank.

            “Kira! Can you come help me?” Lydia called from the kitchen. Kira looked like she might protest but was apparently given the same look Derek had been privy to, because she stood and rushed to the kitchen.

            “So, yoga?” Stiles prompted and jiggled his knees.

            “Lydia.” Derek sighed. He wasn’t really that upset about it. It was a bit of an inconvenience but it was…surprisingly nice feeling like a part of the pack again.

            “How did you know yoga in the first place?” Stiles grinned at him like he hadn’t just jerked off in Derek’s bathroom. How was he supposed to shower tonight?

            “Laura made me take classes with her. She said it would help me make friends. All I got out of it was a basic knowledge and a troupe of housewives following me around.” He pulled a face at that felt his skin stretch into the familiar scowl of discomfit and awkwardly shifted.

            “Cougars, man. We need to get spray bottles.” Stiles joked and winced away from the back of the couch.

            “…Are you hurt?” Derek asked and reached for him. Stiles jerked away before he made contact. Derek tried to tell himself that didn’t hurt as much as it actually did.

            “It’s not a big deal, really.” Stiles shrugged it off.

            “That’s not a no. Show me.” He ordered, brow snapping down. He felt his eyes flare a bit.

            “Calm down, kujo. It’s not like you never hurt me before.”  Stiles gave him a flat look in return. Derek felt like he’d been slapped around the head. He focused on his knees instead, on the sounds of the girls chattering about clothing in the kitchen. “Derek… I didn’t mean it like that. I just--Fine.” Stiles sighed and moved, pulling his shirt up his back.

            Derek’s heart thumped as he went for the hem of his shirt and then stuttered into a halt at the fingerprints tipped with little scabs on his lower back.

            “…Malia did this?” He asked and clenched his hands so he wouldn’t touch.

            “Yeah, she kinda forgets herself sometimes. It was an accident.”

            “Like her forcing you to kiss her was?” He asked flatly.

            “She just doesn’t underst—“

            “Don’t make excuses for her.” He interrupted. “I’ll talk to her.”

            “You really don’t need to…”

            “Do you want her to kiss you?” Derek asked and made Stiles look him in the eye. Stiles hesitated for a moment before murmuring a quiet dissent. “Then I need to talk to her. Lock your window.”

            Stiles nodded and pulled his lips into his mouth as he leaned back into the couch. “Thanks. I…” He seemed to lose confidence, heart beating a little faster again. He nudged Derek’s shoulder with his own and gave a lopsided smile. “My hero! How did I ever live without your experience with terrifying people away?”

            “Oh, that would have been with your inability to shut up.”

            “You wound me, right in the heart.” Stiles splayed his long fingers on his chest and mock cried. Derek laughed, a full out chuckle, and bumped his shoulder against stiles in return.

            Maybe Stiles was a miracle worker after all.

 

*******

 

            Stiles was still riding the panicked embarrassment of getting a giant boner at Derek’s house as he locked his window for the night. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and checked out the bruises on his back. He hadn’t realized she’d nicked him with her claws too and sighed a little. He didn’t think she really knew better, and he knew he led her along with what happened at Eichen house but it honestly didn’t feel like he was the one who did it. He’d felt detached from the whole event.

            He did not, however, feel detached from the feeling of Derek’s stubble on his cheek. If he didn’t know better, he’d think that the whole yoga and cheek rubbing had been set up just to give him a heart attack.  He’d felt awful afterwards, remembering Derek could probably smell it and absolutely didn’t think of Stiles that way at all.  Probably thought the opposite of Stiles. He was so fucked.  Derek had bent and the sweatpants pulled just the right way to highlight all the muscles in his legs and his ass… oh god his ass should have been illegal. And his shoulders. All of him, really.

            It’d been so much easier before he really knew Derek. He was hot like burning, but so was Jackson and Stiles definitely hadn’t wanted to sex him up.  But Derek—He was smiling and laughing now, he let Kira call him Oppa. They bickered good-naturedly and he seemed protective of Stiles in a way that no one had ever really been outside of his family.  He liked disgustingly sweet coffee and candy; he watched bad cop dramas and argued with Stiles about transfats.  Stiles flopped in his bed and clicked off the lamp thinking about him, resting his hand on his lower stomach. 

            He hadn’t been attracted to Derek until after everything they’d been through together and earned each other’s trust.  Derek had broken down after Boyd, turning into Stiles’ hand and just sitting there in the water until Stiles made him get back up. He’d lost everything so many times but just kept going. It made stiles feel like he could do it too. Derek didn’t quit after his own body had been used against him so many times. Stiles wouldn’t quit either.

            He wanted to make Derek proud off him, in an odd way. Derek made him want to be stronger but he felt like it was ok that he wasn’t at the same time. It was complicated and made his heart rise in his throat when he remembered making Derek smile or laugh.  He felt partially responsible for Derek being pulled into the fold of the pack, as well. He’d gravitated towards him after the Nogitsune and the losses they suffered. They propped each other up.  It was that last thought that finally clicked Derek’s awkward explanations and confessions about anchors. He had been trying to let Stiles know that he could anchor himself on Derek in return.  He couldn’t stop the grin tugging its way across his face so he lay there smiling stupidly to himself in the dark.

            Stiles was jolted out of his musings by the window rattling. He sat up and saw blue eyes and a glint of moonlight on blond hair. He felt deeply uncomfortable and shifted back involuntarily.

            There was a growl and a yelp. He startled when he realized Malia was the one growling. There were snaps and snarls outside. His dad rushed into the room with his gun.

            “Dad, it’s ok, ot’s ok! It’s just Derek and Malia. There’s like. Some pack business they have to figure out.” He muttered a bit guiltily.

            “…Derek wasn’t the one sneaking in?”

            “What?! No, dad, he… Malia did but..What? You knew?”

            “I’m a police officer, Stiles.” His dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why was Malia sneaking in? Aren’t you dating Derek?”

            He heard a surprised yip outside.

            “Both of you get to the damn front door!” His dad hollers. Stiles scrambled out of bed and rushed after his dad downstairs. Malia and Derek were standing on the porch, both with leaves in their hair and glares on their faces.  “In.” His dad ordered and pointed to the couch. They both sat. Stiles stole the armchair and gave them both a grimace.

            “You could have just told me you wanted to mount him, Stiles!” Malia gestured at Derek, who went bright red and gaped at her. The expression would have been priceless if Stiles didn’t want to die and be swallowed by the earth.

            “I d-..oh my god.”

            “Or if you wanted him to mount you.” She added fairly and waved a hand. “It’s spring, I was looking for a mate!”

            “….I need to buy more whiskey for this shit.” His dad sighed like it came from the bottom of his soul. Stiles felt that too and scrubbed his hands through his hair.

            “No one is mounting anyone! Ok? Can we just… Not?” Stiles flailed a little. Derek was still bright red and made a face.

            “…He scented you. I can smell it. You smell like arousal around him too.” Malia shrugged. “Both of you do. If you’re not mounting each other, you should.” She nodded pragmatically as if it made perfect sense.  Derek buried his face in his hands.

            “I’m gonna pretend this was a nightmare and go back to sleep.” His dad muttered and went upstairs, clapping Stiles on one numb shoulder. He whimpered a little bit.

            “Well. Now that you’ve outted my awkward attraction, I’m going to go try and suffocate myself in bed” Stiles stood. Derek jerked his head up and blinked.

            “Wh-what? You--? …Me?” Derek pointed at himself.

            “I thought it was kind of obvious. Was it not obvious?” Malia looked at both of them and shrugged.  Stiles made a strangling motion at her and wrinkled his nose up.  She looked a bit unimpressed. “If we’re not going to mate, I’m going home. Night!” She beamed at Stiles and then left the house.

            “I hate her a little, right now.” Stiles muttered and sunk back into the chair.

            “…was she lying?”

            “You’re the one with werewolf powers!” Stiles flailed his arms again. “Besides, dude, have you seen yourself?”

            Derek stiffened up and Stiles immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say.

            “Derek…Hey.” He moved over and plopped on the floor in front of Derek so he was forced to look at him. “ok, I’m gonna be real cheesy here, yeah? Bear with me.  You’re beautiful, man. Like, you’ve got these eyes, and the hair and your smile might actually make the sun shine, ok? It’s possibly criminal or it should be. But like… You’re you. Malia’s hot but I don’t want anything to do with her. Lydia’s hot and terrifying. I think I have a bit of a type.” He babbled and tried to ignore the fact that it felt like he was ripping his chest open in front of Derek.

            Derek just stared back at him for a moment, eyes shining their stupid beautiful rainbow of colors in the porch light pouring through the windows.  He still looked pathetically uncertain.

            “Basically, I want to order shitty pizza with you and watch cheesy movies and wear your fucking t-shirts and I would be your fucking little spoon dammit!”

            Derek laughed. He fucking laughed. Stiles was officially going to kill himself.  He’d read this whole situation totally wrong.  Or at least he thought he had until Derek tugged him in and pressed a kiss to him.

            And that… that was fantastic. He practically launched himself at Derek, throwing his arms around his neck and sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. Derek gave a soft, possessive growl and if that wasn’t the hottest thing Stiles had ever heard he’d eat his chemistry text book. 

Derek’s hands slid up his back possessively and gently. Stiles crawled into his lap, which would be embarrassing if he had any notion of self-possession at the moment. Derek made a small sound, soft and needy and his hands made their way down to Stiles’ hips. This was the best moment of his life, hands down. He pulled back for breath, panted softly against Derek’s mouth. Derek looked _wrecked_.   

Stiles couldn’t help grinning at him any more than he could help dipping back in to kiss him again.  “So, we’re a thing now?”

“Yes, thank god.” Derek muttered and kissed him again, pulling them closer together. Stiles let out a moan that was immediately cut off by water hitting the side of his head. He jerked back to see his dad had the damn squirt bottle Stiles threatened to use against Malia.

“Two weeks.” He threatened and Derek blanched.

“Yessir.” He muttered and then closed his eyes tight like that would make Stiles’ dad disappear. He cracked up and crawled off his lap.

“Unfortunately, I have to sleep. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.” He confirmed. Stiles smiled at him. Best. Night. Ever.

 

 ******

 

            Derek hadn’t thought two weeks was that long of a time frame. He’d been wrong. Stiles seemed to be everywhere, touching his hands and leaning into him and smelling so damn good that he wanted to curl up against him.

            “C’mon, kiss me.” He muttered against Derek’s ear when they were doing the dishes.

            “I can’t. I won’t stop.” Derek replied and scrubbed with possibly a bit more force than needed.

            “So don’t stop then.” He grinned cheekily at him. Derek gave him a flat look. Stiles caved and sighed, but hugged around his waist to press his cheek against Derek’s shoulders. “Fiiiine. I just want to kiss you all the time. It’s pretty awesome.”

            “I know. This is why we have to wait.” Derek pressed a hand over Stiles’ arms and leaned back against him.  Stiles whined but still seemed to understand Derek’s reticence.

            “Fine. But you owe me so much for the wait.”

            “I’m ok with that.” He grinned over his shoulders at Stiles, who just stole a kiss and laughed like it was a great triumph. His phone went off and he went to check it while Derek put the rest of the dishes up to dry.

            “The Pack is coming over for movies and popcorn.” Stiles informed him and stole his favorite spot on the couch. Derek rushed to get his seat as well before the rest of the pack all clambered in, arguing with Lydia over The Notebook yet again.

            “No romance movies.” Derek replied flatly.

            “Oppa’s vote wins!” Kira declared and swung her arms in a giant V for victory before fighting with Scott for the other side of Stiles. Scott solves the battle by putting her in his lap. Lydia narrowed her eyes before settling in equal parts on Stiles and Derek’s laps, while Malia curled up on the floor looking pleased with her decision to come.  

            “What are we being subjected to then? If it’s another Wolfman movie, I may scream in your ear, Stiles.”

            “Nope, Mean Girls because Derek’s never seen it.”

            “Because I’m not a teenage girl.” Derek drawled in reply.

            “I would make Regina George cry.” Lydia assured them with a smirk.

            “Of course you would!” Stiles agreed with her while Kira giggled behind her hands.  The movie nights were a new thing, brought on by Scott wanting them to be closer knit. Derek couldn’t really complain too much. The new alpha had been working through his list of apologies and was making better decisions for the group. It was honestly a bit of a relief for Derek to no longer feel the constant pressure of protecting and leveling everyone else out.

            Stiles managed to steal another kiss before he left, in clear view of Lydia and Kira, who high fived and held empty palms out at Scott. He handed them each five dollars while staring wide eyed at them.  Stiles just laughed at his face and patted Scott’s shoulder as they headed out.

            “I knew you wanted to mount him!” Derek heard Malia announce in the hallway and fought an urge to smack his forehead to the wall.

            The next morning was grocery shopping day. He jogged to Ms. McCall’s work and met her there to ride to the grocery store and meet Stiles. The younger man was currently scribbling on his list of food to buy and scowling. 

            “Stiles, it’s shopping not a war.” Ms. McCall laughed and ruffled his hair.

            “Says you! It’s a war on cholesterol and bad health. Proper strategies and I will win!” 

            Derek laughed and snagged a cart for himself; putting unhealthy snacks in the cart just to listen to Stiles get flustered and dive for them.

            “You boys.” Ms. McCall hip checked Stiles away from her cookies. “Oh no, these are for me and I will bite the hand that tries to take them from me!” She bared her teeth.

            “She’ll rip your throat out. With her teeth.” Derek deadpanned. Stiles stared at him for a moment before bursting into a peal of laughter and leaning against him. It made Derek feel immensely proud of himself.

            “Is that an inside joke? You guys are so weird sometimes. Also, John told me to remind you guys that it’s a week?” She arched a brow.  Derek felt himself flush red, his ears and the back of his neck hot as stiles literally dove for the next aisle to spare himself.

            “I… am aware.” He shifted uncomfortably.

            “About time you two boys figured it out.” She laughed and then tugged Derek into a hug. He felt stiff and awkward for a moment but she patted his back through it until he looped his arms around her and relaxed.  “Thank you. For everything, Derek, I mean it. Stiles is so happy and Scott is so much better. That’s thanks to you.”

            Derek was determined that he was not going to choke up in a damn grocery store so he just swallowed hard and patted her back with a nod.  She pulled back when she was satisfied and then grabbed another box of cookies before Stiles came back with the milk and only slightly pink cheeks.

            Derek thought his mom would have liked Ms. McCall a lot.

 

 *****

 

            Stiles took a leaf out of Derek’s own book by creeping into his apartment at midnight.  Derek was thankfully still awake, sitting on the couch and reading.

            “It’s after midnight. I am officially 18.” Stiles grinned and crawled on the couch.

            “Happy birthday.” Derek replied and kept reading.

            “Derek. If you don’t shut that book and kiss me I might be forced to take drastic measures.”

            “What would those be?” Derek smirked. The bastard looked amused. Well. Two could play at that game. Stiles stood up from the couch and stripped off his shirts, pooling the t-shirt into the flannel.

            “I’ll just have to use your bed for a while.” He shrugged a bare shoulder and tried not to feel self-conscious.  His hipbones and shoulders still pressed sharply against his skin but he wasn’t skinny, even if he looked like it while dressed. He took pleasure watching Derek’s eyes dilate.  Derek was still holding the damn book though, so he turned and unbuttoned his pants as he went for the stairs.

            He yelped and laughed when Derek scooped him up over his shoulder and jogged up the stairs. He pinched Derek’s ass where he could reach it and got a growl in return that did absolutely nothing to curb his libido.  

            Derek laid him on the bed and crawled over him, kissing him until they were both breathless. He canted his hips up to Derek and arched his head back when Derek moved to lavish attention on his neck. He gasped out a loud moan when Derek’s teeth grazed his collar bone.

            “Glad to know the drastic measures were effective.”

            “Do you even know what you did to me with that little bathroom stunt? I could smell you in there for days.”

            “Good.” He moaned and tugged at Derek’s hair to bring him up for another kiss before ordering him around. “Take your shirt off.”

            Derek arched a brow at him but moved back to comply, tugging the worn Henley over his head and tossing it over his shoulder.  Stiles made grabby hands at him and Derek laughed again, moving close enough for Stiles to—finally—touch him. He slid his palms over the smooth warmth of Derek’s back and brought his mouth to the center of his chest to kiss. Derek groaned softly and ran shaking fingers through Stiles’ hair.

            “Lay down.” Stiles shifted to make room. Derek shifted to get comfortable on his back while Stiles worked his mouth over his chest, tugging and teasing his nipples with his teeth and tongue. He’d watched enough porn to know that was supposed to be good and was rewarded with a choked off moan.

            “Oh god, stiles, your mouth…” Derek managed and Stiles smirked against his skin as he kissed down his stomach. He reached his belly button before Derek jerked. “Not… don’t kiss there, please.” Stiles looked up at him and nodded before reaching for his fly.

“Is this ok?”

“Yes, please yes.” Derek nodded and grinned at him. “I forget that you’re so far from shy.”

“Dude, I’ve been dying to touch you for two weeks, you’re lucky I didn’t pounce on you in the shower.”

“Mmm maybe later.” Derek smirked and lifted his hips to let Stiles tug off his jeans. Jesus fuck, he wasn’t wearing underwear.  His cock was already half hard, the head peeking from the foreskin. Stiles might not have acted shy but he sure felt it for a moment before he slid a careful palm over Derek.  It earned him a soft moan before he bent down to suck the tip of his cock into his mouth when curiosity overcame him. Derek made an almost shocked sound and grabbed two fistfuls of the bedding. Stiles smirked around him. He felt powerful, making Derek lose a bit of control. He stroked up and down his length a few times before pressing teasing kisses and licks up and down the shaft. Derek’s thighs quivered and his hips bucked up to him. “Fuck, don’t tease, Stiles, Jesus…”

“Sorry.’ He grinned and moved up Derek’s body to kiss his mouth again. Derek rolled them over, sliding his cock against Stiles’ belly. He moaned right into Derek’s mouth and buried his hands in his hair as he rocked his hips in rhythm. 

Derek worked Stiles’ jeans and boxers off in one move, before rocking their hips slowly together. Stiles jerked  and clutched at him harder.

“Oh holy fuck.” He managed and pressed up harder. “Please tell me you have lube.” He begged.

“Y-yeah, I do.” Derek managed and kissed him again. “How do you want to…?”

“Uh…I kinda.” He gulped a bit, feeling suddenly shy. “You in me. Please. I want that. Like. Really want that.” He nodded and Derek gave him a reassuring smile before backing up to grab the lube.

“Flip over.” He rolled his finger and Stiles bit back a slightly hysterical chuckle before getting on his stomach and looking over his shoulder.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Stiles. So good like this.” Derek muttered and kissed his shoulder blades. Stiles flushed and shivered a bit, pressing a cheek to Derek’s pillows.  Derek slid his hands down Stiles’ back and pressed kisses down his spine that made his flesh break out in goose bumps. He gave a soft moan before gasping and trying to move away when Derek’s mouth pressed against his hole.

“Holy shit what are you do—Oh fuck.” The fight collapsed out of him as Derek teased him with lips and tongue. That really had no right to feel as amazing as it did; shooting sparks through his stomach straight to his cock.  He sucked in ragged breaths as Derek worked him slowly open and flat out shouted when he pushed two slippery fingers into him. The sensation wasn’t unfamiliar but not unpleasant before Derek curled his fingers just so and starbursts flared across Stiles vision. He felt pre-cum slick over his own stomach and rocked back against Derek’s hand.

“Easy, not so fast. Let me get you ready.” Derek murmured and he tried to relax. His legs felt shaky and unattached from the rest of him. Derek kept murmuring praise as he worked Stiles open slowly.

            “Oh god, speed up, please, I gotta… I need..” He didn’t even really know what he needed but he felt a deep aching in his lower belly. His sac was drawn so tight he thought he might actually explode.

            Derek finally moved his fingers out and pushed slowly into him. It burned a little and wasn’t entirely comfortable but Stiles immediately went boneless. He pressed his back against Derek’s chest and groaned softly.  He was answered with Derek pulling slowly out before canting back in with equal care.

            “More. Please, more, I can’t…” He tried to bump his hips back inexpertly. Derek let out a ragged sound and clamped his hands around Stiles’ hips before setting up a quicker rhythm. He shifted minutely until Stiles cried out again, shaking as his cock dragged over that one spot.

            The pace went frenzied almost immediately, their hips rocking together. He was fairly sure he’d have two perfect bruises on his ass from Derek’s hipbones and the knowledge felt delicious.

            “God, you’re so good, Stiles, so fucking good, I can’t…” Derek murmured against his ear. Stiles twisted inelegantly to press a sideways, sloppy kiss to Derek’s mouth before gasping sharply as his hand dragged over his cock. He felt like he was about to shake apart and couldn’t figure out what to do to ease the building pressure. He whined softly and let out a quiet sob. “It’s ok, Stiles, just let go, I’ve got you.”

            He bucked hard as Derek pressed his thumb just below the head of his cock and thrust sharply into him. He might have actually screamed as he came, harder than he had ever done before in his life, hands clawed into the pillows. Derek fucked into him faster and rougher, stroking him through it until Stiles was practically crying.

            “Oh god, I can’t, no, it’s too much” He begged, every nerve ending on fire and his limbs a quivering mess when Derek finally came, pressing deep into him. He panted rapidly for breath, collapsed and useless, as Derek carefully pulled out and fell beside him.

            He managed to cuddle closer and Derek pressed soft kisses against his temples and cheeks, the tip of his upturned nose and then his mouth.

            “I love you.”

            Stiles popped his eyes open and grinned at him. “I love you too. Best birthday ever.” He nuzzled closer and passed out against Derek.

 

 ****

 

           

            Melissa was pretty sure she knew where Stiles was when John called her the morning of Stiles’ eighteenth birthday in a growing panic.

            “Oh, he’s fine, sorry! I thought he let you know before he left last night.” Stiles was going to owe her so many boxes of cookies.

            “Thank goodness. Alright, I’ll get to work on his party then. Thanks.” He hung up.

            Melissa got dressed and headed downtown to the loft. She was a bit wary of walking in, but everything seemed pretty clean. Aside from the pile of clothing at the couch. She winced a bit but steeled her nerve to head upstairs.  She opened the door cautiously and sighed in relief when she saw both of them were dressed. Derek was curled up on his side, almost in the fetal position, with Stiles spooning against the back of him, long limbs wrapped protectively around him.  Derek frowned in his sleep and she watched Stiles’ arms tighten a little, one foot squirming under his knee until Derek relaxed.

            She smiled a little to herself as she backed out of the room, content in the knowledge that her boys were taking care of each other .

 


End file.
